Rates of lung transplantation during the pandemic

While lung transplant rates fell early in many countries, later reports suggest a cautious recovery.

Although US heart and lung transplant rates fell dramatically by about 50% earlier this year in March & April(7), more recent data suggests that rates had almost recovered again by June.

In Europe, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on lung transplantation were somewhat mixed, from little effect on overall transplant rates in Germany over the period January to May(8) to an alarming early report on the situation in France(9) where lung transplants fell from pre-pandemic levels of 31 to only two cases in just three weeks during March and April.

Since the situation is continuously changing, however, many reports on how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted transplantation rates over the last six months are outdated by the time they come to press.

References:

7. Pasrija C , Shah A, Kaczorowski DJ, Lau CL Innovations (Phila). Cardiac and Pulmonary Transplant Considerations During COVID-19 Pandemic. 2020 Jul/Aug;15(4):314-316. doi: 10.1177/1556984520937007. Epub 2020 Jun 30. (link to extract)

8. S Michel , C Witt , J Gottlieb , C Aigner, Impact of COVID-19 on Lung Transplant Activity in Germany-A Cross-Sectional Survey Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 2020 Sep 8. doi: 10.1055/s-0040-1715436. (link to abstract)

9. Picard C, Le Pavec J, Tissot A, et al. Impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and lung transplantation program in France. Respirat Med Res Vol 78, 2020, 100758 Editorial (link to extract)

XVIVO Insights PB-2020-10-28